Office Affair

This is so wrong but...wanna spend the night here?

Anya was just eating breakfast, that was delicious even for hospital standards, when she heard a shy knock on the door. She wiped her mouth with a napkin and invited the person inside.

"Dominic!"

He went straight to the bed and kissed her forehead. She laughed, then she took a good look at him, from his carefully combed hair, to the wrinkled suit and pants.

"That is the same suit you had on yesterday! Did you even go home last night?"

She knew that he didn't. There was a slightly guilty look on his face, and she didn't understand why.

"Not really," he sighed and pulled the chair close to her, so that their faces were close to one another.

"Why?"

He gave her a long, intense look.

"Kayla and I had a serious fight over the phone last night, and home was the last place that I wanted to sleep at. So I called my friend and asked him if I could spend the night on his couch. He agreed."

"Oh yeah, you mentioned the divorce. I'm sorry to hear that."

"I don't understand."

"I mean, isn't there any way for you two to work the things out?"

"No. I don't want to," he said. She could see that the divorce topic made him upset, but she couldn't resist asking him more questions.

"Why?"

"Ok, in theory, I could agree to work on our marriage. But in reality, I don't want to work on that marriage because a) it was supposed to be done many years ago, and b) I would still have to have loving feelings for Kayla, which I don't. This marriage is so fake that it doesn't even deserve to be called that."

"So what will you do?"

"I don't know, I'll think about it. Maybe I'll stay at the center for a little while. We'll see."

Just when Anya began thinking the impossible, like offering him her bed, a nurse came in and told her that she can leave the hospital. Dominic stood up and insisted on helping her get dressed.

"I don't need help, Dominic."

"I know you don't. But please, humor me."

"Why is that so important to you?"

"What is important to me?"

"Helping me? Doing things for me? I'm not..."

"...used to it, perhaps," he mumbled while she put on her sweater, with his help. She was sure that he didn't want her to hear it, but she did. She fumed.

"Yes, as a matter of fact. I am not used to it and I'm not comfortable with letting anyone do the things I can do myself."

"Anya, you've had an arrhythmia. If you were fine, I wouldn't have said a word and I would have walked out the door to leave you in peace. But you are still recovering, you must take it easy."

His voice was so firm that she got quiet. Maybe he is right, she thought, but she didn't feel comfortable with him circling all over her. She sighed and sat down on the bed, patted the mattress, gesturing him to sit down as well. When he did, she took his hand. It was deliciously warm, as opposed to her cold fingers.

"Look, Dominic. I love you so much as a friend. I know we are still in the phase of getting to know each other but I really feel close to you. However, I would really, really appreciate it if you would let me decide on my own. I'm used to doing things all by myself because...because I know that I can do it. If I really don't know how to do something, you must trust me that I will ask for your help."